Multimedia Design Degree Outlook

If you decide to go to design school to study visual communications (graphic design), you decide to learn as much as possible across the board and even go on to study further to become an art director. Or, you can focus on a specific trade such as Multimedia, where you learn to create special effects, animation, or other visual images on film, video or CD/DVD, or with computers or other electronic media such as kiosks. Multimedia designers work with images, but they also work with sound. Multimedia designers are the individuals who benefit this industry by expanding the impact of any communications.

If you entered school with the intent of becoming a cameraman, you may end up in Multimedia because you'll have more control over your end product. If you entered design school with the intent of become the best print graphic designer ever, you may stray into Multimedia because it helps you to step outside the print envelope. Finally, if you intended to become an illustrator or animator, you may discover that a multimedia careerwill help you to add depth to your drawings with sound and movement.

Multimedia artists work primarily in the film and video industry, but they also work in advertising, gaming industries, and in computer systems design services. You can find Multimedia artists working in television and film studios, in advertising and design agencies, in little dingy makeshift sound rooms, and at home but only if the Multimedia artist can afford all the equipment he or she needs to perform a project.

The amount of equipment and software that a Multimedia artist might use for any given project is one reason why these designers rarely work alone. Take, for instance, the gaming industry where teams of designers, writers, and musicians work together to produce a project. This is basically how it goes across the board for Multimedia artists. The ability to work as a team player is essential for success.

The ability to enter the workforce with knowledge about the latest computer and sound equipment and software is essential as well. This is why industries such as gaming look for entry-level employees who have focused on nothing but those skills in their last two years of schooling if not more. A school that focuses on the gaming industry would provide a student with all the skills necessary to enter any design field as a Multimedia designer. With that said, many other design schools can provide a solid overall education in Multimedia design, along with a great portfolio upon graduation.

So, a two- to four-year design degree with an emphasis on Multimedia or gaming, along with classes in two- and three-dimensional drawing on the computer and by hand, should put the graduate in a good position to enter the workforce. Be forewarned that Multimedia artists often work long and inconsistent hours on projects.